Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was on Capitol Hill to explain to American lawmakers how the global economy is affecting interest rates.

Yellen issued a veiled warning Tuesday during her biannual address before Congress. She said the so-called Brexit vote figures into the Federal Reserve’s calculations on raising interest rates.

“It’s up for them to decide. I’m simply saying the decision could have economic consequences that would be relevant to the U.S. economic outlook that we need to monitor carefully,” Yellen said.

As for U.S. economic growth this year, Yellen appeared less optimistic, maintaining a cautious approach that reduced four potential interest rate increases to two before the end of 2016.

In addition to slower Chinese growth and lower oil prices, she cited the lower than expected U.S. job growth in May – and the half a million Americans who stopped looking for work.

Some members of the U.S. Congress expressed concern that a prolonged period of low interest rates would encourage speculation in equities. But Yellen said the threat of that is low though it bears watching.

Craig James discusses Yellen’s congressional address

For more on Yellen’s testimony and its impact on global economy, CCTV America’s Jessica Stone spoke to Craig James, managing partner at Precision Advisors.

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